Machine for drilling wells



No. 6I7,894. Patented Ian. I7, |899.

D. D. WARD.

MACHINE FOR DRILLING WELLS.

(Applicaltion led Feb. 20, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

ava/afar' No. 6|7,a94. y Patented 1an. |7, |899. n. n. wAnn.

MACHINE FOR DRILLING WELLS.

(Application Bled Feb. 20, 1897.) (No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

l@ i. A

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID-D. -WARD, F AUSTIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO FREDERICK'C.

AUSTIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR DRILLING WELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,894, dated January17, 1899.

I Application led February 20, 1897. Serial No. 624,372. (No model.)

also applicable to machines for-performing.

analogous work for other purposes.

In a machine characterized by my invention the drill-rod or well-tube isrotated by a gear-wheel having a centrally-arranged bore,

`through which the .rod or tube is extended.

The rod,or tube is connected with the gear by a sliding or shiftingconnection, whereby the rod or tube may automatically descend during theprogress of the work. To provide for different sizes of rods or tubeswithout changing the gear, the bore of the gear is made` polygonal andthe rod or tube is provided with an adjustable sliding sleeve having apolygonal exterior. In some cases the polygonal exterior of the sleevefits the polygonal bore of the gear, while in other cases a bushingwhich is polygonal both internally and externally is removably fittedwithin the bore of the gear and the externallypolygonal sleeve is fittedto slide within such bushing. The sleeve is adapted for temporarysecurement upon the rod or tube, whereby when necessary it can be adjusted thereon from a' lower toa higher position as the work progresses.v

As a means for extracting the core after the bit has performed asuitable extent of work,

. I provide a tubular core-lifter containing one or more springs, which,while preventing no material obstruction to the entrance of the coreinto the core-lifter, will automatically clutch the core whenfthecore-lifter is raised.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates' the' core-barrel andbit sunk in the ground. Fig. 2' is a like View with the bit removed andreplaced by the core-lifter, which latter is in the'act of receiving thecore M. In Fig. l the devices for operating and holding the drill-rodare shown, while in Fig.

2 such devices are omitted. Fig. 3 is a longltudinal central section,on,a larger scale,

through the core-barrel and core-lifter, the

former being broken away for conveniencev of illustration.. Fig. 4 showsthe devices` for operating and holding the drill-rod in eleva- .asection' through one of the bevel-gears and a modified form ofsleeve forengaging the drill-rod. '.Fig. 8 shows in elevation the lower endportion of the sleeve F of Fig. 7. Fig. fl

is a section on line y y in Fig. 7. Fig. l0 is a section on line z z: inFig. 6.

The mechanism for rotating the drill'comprises a couple of intermeshingbevel-gears A- and B, the former of which is fixed upon a rotarypower-driven shaft C, understood to be connected with and operated byany suitable engine. The gear B is supported by a bracket D, arranged toswing about the axis of shaft C and constructed with a swinging bearingfor the hub b of the gear B. One part cl of this bracket is hinged tothe other part d', as at (Z2,

whereby the part d can' be swung outward whenit becomes desirable toremove the gear B. IVhen said parts of the bracket are closed together,they can be locked the one to thel other by a bolt E.

The gear B is provided with a polygonal bore b',which extends axiallythrough the gear and the hub portion thereof, an illustration of apolygonal bore through the gear being afforded by Figs. 5 and 9.

A sleeve F, having a cylindric bore and made externally polygonal incorrespondence with the polygonal bore of the gear B, is fitted to slideup and down within said bore of gear B. This sleeve is fitted to slideupon the welltube or drill-red, as the case may be, it being usual,however, to adapt it to receive and fit upon -a'drill-rod G, which maybe solid or hollow, but preferably the latter.

In Fig. 4 the sleeve F i's temporarily secured upon the drill-rod by oneor more set-screwsf, while in Fig. 7 the lower end of the sleeve isunderstood to be externally threaded and provided withsplitsf', asin'Fig. 8, and to have IOC its split end clamped upon the drill-rod by anut II, screwed upon the externallyt-hreaded end portion f of thesleeve. .lVhere the rod G and sleeve F arecomparatively large, one ormore set-screws can be advantageously employed, since in such case thesleeve will at'- ford suitable bearings for the setlscrews; but wherethe rod and sleeve are comparatively small and the sleeve is made ofcomparatively thin material it may be more advantageous to split andthread one end of the sleeve and employ a tightening-nut, as in Fig. 7.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the polygonal sleeve fits the polygonal bore of thegear B but where a smaller rod is employed I iit within the bore of thegear B a bushing I, which is externally and internal-ly polygonal inconformity with the bore ofthe gear and which is provided at one endwith a stop or shoulder vz', which rests upon the middle plane portionof the gear, as in Fig. 7, so as to prevent the bushing from droppingdown through the gear. Thisbushing is internally fitted to the reduced`sleeve F, Figs. 7 and 9, and the said sleeve is iitted to the reduceddrill-rod G. By employing bushings I of various dimensions various sizesof drill rods or tubes can-be readily and conveniently employed withoutchanging the gear, and it will also be observed that the bushing I andthe gear B are adapted to be readily removed and replaced without theuse of tools-that is to say, after swinging the bearing outwardly thebushing and the gear may be raised therefrom and replacedby hand, as thesaid bushing and gear are constructed -without flanges, bolts, screws,or other devices which would necessitate theuse of screw-drivers,wrenches, dsc.

'During the operation of drilling 'the drillrod and the sleeve F securedthereon automatically slide downwardly through the gear B, according tothe progress of the work. When, however, the sleeve reaches the limit ofits allotted drop/(which can be determined by a stop or shoulder f3-upon the upper end of the sleeve coming in contact with the gear 15,)the device for fastening the sleeve upon the drill rod or tube can bereleased and the sleeve can be shifted upwardly upon the rod or tube andagain fastened thereon. In this way, therefore, while the sleeve and rodwill automaticallydrop during the progress of the work the sleeve canfrom time to time be adjusted f rom a lower to a higher position uponthe drill-rod, according to requirements.

In Fig. 1 the drill-rod is detachablysecured to the upper end of a'core-barrel K,'and a tubular bit L is detachably secured to the lowerend of the core barrel, During the process of drilling, particularlythrough rock, a core will be formed, as in Fig. 2',wl1e'rein such a coreis indicated by letterM and shownv partly exposed and partly within thecorebarrel, as represented by dotted lines. After such a core has beenformed the drill-rod, core-barrel, and bit canbe raised and the bitremoved and replaced by a core-lifter N. The

attached.

rod, barrel, and core-lifter can then bc sunk, as in Fig. 2, in whichthe core-lifter is understood to be passing downwardly over thc core,which is to be subsequently raised by again raising the barrel to whichthe core-lifter is The core-litter N-consists of acompa'la I tivelyshort barrel' adapted to couple with the core-barrel K bya threaded orother suitable` lfered to the reception of thcjcore 'withinthccore-lifter and core-barrel. Upon raising the core-barrel andcore-lifter, however, the upper ends of the springs will engage andclutch the core, so as to cause the latter to break away at its baseand'to rise 'with the ascending lcore-barrel and core-lifter. Otherforms of spring or springs having like action may alsobe employed. Thusthe spring can be a longitudinally-split sleeve R, of trunco-con- `icalshape, secured t'o the inner wall of the core-lifter by an arm 1', as inFigs. 6 and 1U.

As a preferred mode of operation the bit attached directly to thecore-barrel is first elnployed, and subsequently the bit is det-achedand replaced by the core-litter, as hereinbefore described; but I can,however, in the first instance attach the core-lifter to the4core-barrel and, attach the bit to the corelifter, in which case oneendof the corelifter will be adapted for connection with the corebarrel,while its opposite end will be adapted for connection with the bit. vIcan also arrange one or more` of the aforesaid clutchsprings within thetubularbit in place of within a core-lifter n and dispense with thelatter, in which case the bit will act as a core-lifter, or I can employthe core-lifter and bit and arrange the springs in both. I prefer,however, to provide a detachable core-lifter having one or moreclutch-springs, as hereinbefore set forth, and to dispense with springsin the bit.

I claim- .In a rotary core-drill for drilling wells or the like, agear Bhaving a polygonal bore and a hub b; a bushing I externally andinternally polygonal and removably fitted within the polygonal bore ofthe gear, said bushing being provided with a stop which rests upon thegear so as to support the bushingtherein; an externally-polygonal sleevefitted to slide within the polygonal bushing and having a stop arrangedto limit its downward movement; a 4drill rod or tube fitted to slidewith- 'IOO IIO

in the sleeve, and :tfastoning device by which bushing without the useof tools; substanthe sleeve-can be secured in adjustment upon tially asdescribed.

the drillaod, the foregoing construction and arrangement boing adaptedto permit the use of-different sizes of drill rods or tubes withoutchanging the gear, and also to permit easy removal and replacement ofthe gear and DAVID D. WARD.

Witnesses A. F. DURAND, RE'rA M. WAGNER.

